Oak Ridge Jewish Congregation celebrates 70th anniversary

Thursday

Jul 25, 2013 at 7:24 PM

They came to “the Secret City” from different parts of the country, not knowing anyone and with no idea of what their role would be in this collection of small farming communities. In 1942, the federal government had decided to convert these farming communities into the city Oak Ridge, a secret development site for the Manhattan Project charged with designing the first nuclear weapons during World War II. But it didn’t take long for the first Jews who arrived in the area and other Jews who followed to feel a strong bond among them.

by Vera Maya

They came to “the Secret City” from different parts of the country, not knowing anyone and with no idea of what their role would be in this collection of small farming communities. In 1942, the federal government had decided to convert these farming communities into the city Oak Ridge, a secret development site for the Manhattan Project charged with designing the first nuclear weapons during World War II. But it didn’t take long for the first Jews who arrived in the area and other Jews who followed to feel a strong bond among them.

“Nobody had relatives in Oak Ridge, so we made all of us a big and supportive family,” says Herb Hoffman, one of the earlier newcomers to the area. Up to this day, that feeling of family and support continues.

Most of the Jews who arrived in Oak Ridge were scientists and engineers — but they brought with them many other talents and vitality that contributed to the society at large. They would work during the day at the different facilities and in their free time after work would help create in Oak Ridge the arts and entertainment that was non-existent in a town created for war purposes. As the need was there, many Jewish scientists of the time developed talents that they probably themselves didn't know they had. Jews were instrumental in helping create local music institutions, art, theater and other cultural activities. They themselves flourished, as did the city. The same experience was lived by many talented non-Jews who arrived at the time and desired more of life than just work.

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From this Friday, July 26, through Sunday, July 28, members of the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of their arrival in Oak Ridge. Different events are planned, featuring outside speakers and a dinner on Saturday, July 27, at the DoubleTree Hotel. Many ex-Oak Ridgers from out of town are planning to attend, and the excitement is building to once again see many of the past congregants who contributed so much to the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge.

A little bit of history about the Jewish community in Oak Ridge, which partly appears in the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, reveals that Abraham Leavitt was the first Jewish resident of Oak Ridge when he moved from Atlanta to work as a telephone communications specialist for the Manhattan Project. He was followed by several Jewish families who had relocated to the secret installation. In its infancy, Oak Ridge had one non-denominational prayer space, Chapel-on-the-Hill, which was used by community members of all faiths. The first official Jewish service performed at the chapel occurred Oct. 15, 1943, and was attended by 20 people. Joseph Jaffe and Capt. William Bernstein, both lay members, led a service using prayer books loaned by Temple Beth-El in Knoxville, the closest formal congregation to Oak Ridge. Because of its significance to the Jewish, Catholic and Protestant religious community of Oak Ridge, Chapel-on-the-Hill (now the United Church) was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Bernstein, a medical doctor, played a major role in the early formation of an organized Jewish community. With no rabbi or formal congregation, Bernstein organized services and acted as the public face of the congregation to the National Jewish Welfare Board. The Board gave the Oak Ridge congregation $25 a month for support and sent Rabbi Elias Schwartz to the town for its first High Holidays season in September 1944. Since Oak Ridge remained a guarded military secret, Rabbi Schwartz couldn’t report the number of people attending his service or other information about the town’s population.

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While a formal congregation didn’t yet exist, the Jews of Oak Ridge began to form companion organizations to enhance their religious and social lives. In 1944, the Ladies Auxiliary — which later became the Sisterhood — was established. That same year, the first Sunday school class was held with six children enrolled. Other Jewish community groups soon followed, including a Hadassah chapter and a branch of the National Council of Jewish Women. In 1949, the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge became incorporated and members decided to join the Jewish National Conservative Movement.

In the 1950s, the fledgling Jewish community began to set down roots. Members constructed their first Synagogue with their own hands, enabling them to conduct services independent of Chapel-on-the-Hill. In addition, they acquired their first Torah scroll and hired their first rabbi. Beth El Center was completed and dedicated in 1952. To satisfy the need for Jewish burial, a cemetery was acquired in 1959. Through the years, an Education Wing was added followed by a second floor for a Social Hall, and a smaller Social Room downstairs — adjacent to the sanctuary.

The 1960s, ’70s and ’80s were periods of growth and vigorous activities for the Congregation. Membership reached 100 families and the Hebrew school registered 100 Jewish children in its classes. Because membership in the Congregation is directly affected by the funding and programs of the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, those numbers have considerably decreased and presently membership in the Congregation is considerably lower.

Through the years, the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge has had five rabbis. Since 1983, Rabbi Victor Rashkovsky has been the spiritual leader of the Congregation. Many talented Jews in Oak Ridge have contributed to conduct services when rabbis weren’t available. The Congregation constantly relies on knowledgeable lay members to conduct and help with the religious services.

No history of the Oak Ridge Jewish Congregation would be complete without mentioning the role the Sisterhood has played in the development and maintenance of the Synagogue. These extraordinary women, full of energy, intelligence and dedication have always been the right arm of the Congregation. From their involvement on the board of directors, preparing all sorts of delicious meals for the whole congregation for special occasions, fund raising, helping the needy and elderly, members of the Sisterhood play a very special role in the well-being and functioning of the Synagogue. Many of these women have been honored by being on the National Board of the Sisterhood, and the same is true of women in the Hadassah organization.

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The writer of this article arrived with her family in Oak Ridge in 1974. I didn’t know what to expect coming to a small town in Tennessee, but I must say that we were overwhelmed by the vitality of the Jewish Community in Oak Ridge and the city itself.

“We never felt we were in a small town. We loved the music available, the theater, art. We never felt Oak Ridge was a ‘small city.’

“The Jewish Congregation opened its arms to us immediately. We had never had the experience of getting invited for dinner or private celebration of Jewish Holidays by people we had never met. Just a telephone call from them, and it felt we had known other congregants for a long time. We are extremely grateful to this community for the wonderful years we lived here and the help they provided in helping raise our children with a Jewish identity.”

As the quotation states at the beginning of this article by Herb Hoffman, “we were — and still are — part of a big and supportive family.”